If I had one meal in San Francisco, I'd spell it right :-(. Sorry, couldn't resist. Just a few pointers to ensure that you tap into the amazing resources available here from this Board's intrepid Chowhounds.You are going to get better responses if you narrow it down. There are about 5,000 restaurants in the SF Bay Area, in all price ranges and most every type of cuisine and the poor Hounds here get questions like yours literally dozens of times a month. You need to provide more info. Where are you staying? Are you willing to travel for food? What price range? What kind of food are you looking for? What day of the week (lots of places are closed Sun and/or Mon)? Have a great time!

it will be a friday night, yes, we're willing to travel, (we're staying downtown but dining with friends who live near Palo Alto). as for price, the sky's the limit -- we just want to have the best possible meal we can have!

I think Manresa is a good choice, especially since your friends live on the Peninsula. Plus, it's a very California restaurant, compared to most of the high-end places in San Francisco which are similar in style to high-end restaurants in other parts of the country.

The other hothothot place right now is Commis in Oakland. You can impress your friend, who probably hasn't even heard of it, by knowing about an amazing restaurant in a little storefront in Oakland.

Right now I want to go to La Folie as I haven't been able to make it there yet. Been to both Manresa and Commis and right now I'd probably pick Commis as the place to go. Afterwards you can head up Piedmont Ave to Adesso and have some of their fine salumis.

If price is no object (and you are willing to travel a bit) then why not try The French Laundry?

Btw why is the display of my post removing the capitalization of The French Laundry?

I know about the inline links Ruth -- this is the first time I've had it add the old style links "below" my post with the red squibs (which I actually prefer as they standout and you can see who is recc'ing them, unlike the places mentioned squibs on the right side).

I don't see them. I did have an experience where I manually put in the links, they showed at the bottom, and then they disappeared when I actually posted. Do you still see them in your post above where you mentioned them? Maybe it's some weird quirk on my browser?

A 3rd on Manresa. I liked it more then the French Laundry. Mind stretching is what I experienced. Besides being convenient to the south bay, it's also a "bargain" compared to French Laundry. Get the tasting menu. Order some local wines and you should have a fine meal and save a little in the process.

I've always loved Fleur de Lys and Julius Castle. I'm out of the loop now as I moved out ten years ago though. Others I think fondly of are Boulevard, Zuni Cafe, Washington Bar & Grill, North Beach Restaurant.

Julius' Castle is currently closed. Fleur de Lys has gotten mixed reports in the past year or two. The Washbag has gone through major changes but the latest owners (since March) reportedly have tried to bring back the original style. North Beach Restaurant gets more pans than raves here. Boulevard and Zuni haven't changed much in the past decade.

My favorite restaurant in San Francisco is La Folie. The PROBLEM with La Folie is that it is an excellent, classic French restaurant, the type you might find in NYC... or France. It is not unique to SF.

If I wanted a unique-to-SF experience, I would go to Coi or Ame. Coi is experimental small portions 11 courses and you might leave needing more food before the night is through. But it really is something. Ame is a Japanese/Italian/French fusion restaurant unlike any you will find elsewhere. In terms of "dinner" vs. "culinary experience" I'd probably prefer Ame to Coi... but Coi is the more significant "culinary experience".

I thought long and hard about your dilemma. I love La Folie and that's a documented fact. Still, if I were to select one restaurant that puts the biggest smile on my face, that place would be Incanto. Not the fanciest, not the most expensive, just satisfying. Taking the J-Church from downtown to the Noe Valley just makes it better.

I'd vote for Manresa as well. As its location has not been mentioned, I think, I would mention to you that Manresa is in downtown Los Gatos, about a 20-40 minute drive from Palo Alto, depending on traffic and where in Palo Alto you will be. Manresa is our favorite restaurant in the area, enough so that we venture there 4 to 5 times a year at least. Although taste is certainly subjective, I personally like it better than many of the area's other best restaurants, including The French Laundry, The Restaurant at Meadowood, Gary Danko, Coi, Boulevard, etc. I do have to admit that I have not been to Commis before. I also like the suggestions for La Folie and Incanto, very good for French and Italian food respectively, but neither is of the quality of preparation or presentation of Manresa.

I look forward to your report. Tasting menus can be problematic in the sense of too much food, too much presentation, too much pretension. Done right, a tasting menu can be special but when everyone does it, it's just not that big a deal.

There is nothing that I have ever had at Manresa that I haven't liked, but I would note a few things that I find to be incredible, with obviously things being seasonal. The vegetables are out of this world, due to Kinch overseeing their growth and cultivation. As Robert Lauriston said, "into the vegetable garden" is probably the best salad that you will ever have. Also, I love Kinch's Tidal Pool, lamb, and sucking pig dishes. But the best of them all, when it's available, is the abalone in brown butter, which I still rank as one of the top ten things that I have ever put in my mouth.

It was also, hands down, the best dish I had there on a visit a couple months ago and generally just a fantastic dish, even though I did not love everything we had at Manresa (i.e., we were more impressed by the concept and presentation of the "into the vegetable garden" than by the flavors).